" THE COPYRIGHT IN ALBANIA CHALLANGE FOR INSTITUTIONS"
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Msc.Esq. Eva Hamitaj
 
 CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
DEVELOPMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
IN EUROPE AND ALBANIA
1.1.Intellectual Property
Rights ................................................................................................... 3

1.2.The History of Intellectual Property

Development ......................................................................... 4
1.3.Internationalist Intellectual Property and
Copyright Pronouncement ......................................... 6
1.4. Intellectual Property
Rights ................................................................................................................ 7
 
 
CHAPTER II
THE RIGHT OF THE AUTHOR IN ALBANIA
2.1.Fix of copyright in
Albania ..................................................................................... 10

2.2.Object and copyrights under law no. 35/2016

"On copyrights and other related

rights" .............................................................. .... 12

2.3. Copyright and their implementation in

Albania ........................................ ........ 17

2.4.The legal institutions responsible for guaranteeing

copyright ........................ ..23

Copyright in Albania and EU

Legislation ............................................................... .. 26

CONCLUSIONS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................
... .28
 LITERATURE ......................................................................................
... ..31

 
 

 
 

CHAPTER I
DEVELOPMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
IN EUROPE AND ALBANIA
1. 1.Threatment of the intellectual property right

Impeccable ownership has different definitions the only title determines the nature of
this right, which can be defined as those rights are exercised as ownership over the
human intellect products. The use of the word "property" defines the property or
moveable objects , so it is also usable to show the disposition, possession and
enjoyment of the intellectual product, which, referring to the protection of the
intellectual product, tends to defend the ideas as well as the product of ideas . [1]
The main difference between the right to property over property and immovable
property and intellectual property lies in the fact that the property exists in a natural
object for an indefinite period, and even ancient artifacts tend to be ' was owned by
anyone who finds them, unless the government appropriates them’. The same thing
happens with real estate where property rights are transferred from one owner to
another.
Intellectual property is different in that it has a limited duration, a non lasts for a fixed
number of years. In the case of patents, it is usually 20 years  , in the copyright of the
author , life span is 7 0 years or more, depending on jurisdiction, for this period the
right goes to the public domain and can be used by anyone [2] .
The other distinction between material property and intellectual property (non-
material) is the existence of a moral element in intellectual property, especially
in copyright, national laws of EU states protect copyright in the moral identification
example as the owner of a job.
Essentially, intellectual property can be considered as "knowing and applying its
creative" element of intellectual property rights include patents, copyrights,
trademarks, geographical indications and design rights .
 
 
1.2 History of Intellectual Property Development
Although intellectual property as a juridical notion was born in 1967 with the
establishment of the World Intellectual Property Organization, patents, copyrights and
trademarks were born during the Middle Ages during this time the author had some
moral rights in his work but this right was limited because it is known that in this age
the Church had ownership of the works created by giving it a monopoly on these
works, a reason why it can be concluded that the beginnings of intellectual property
are found in the 13th-14th century [3]
With the coming of the Renaissance and Enlightenment and the liberation of the
peoples of Europe from religious obscurantism, coupled with the industrial revolt,
brought the assessment of these tissues and their products, based on the will of the
author (their owner) who could even to benefit economically from the product of their
ideas.
England is the state that for the first time passed acts that are considered as the
beginnings of modern intellectual property these acts protected as patents
and copyrights. The first act recognized the intellectual property is a Letter Patent, a
document bearing the seal of King that gives the holder the right to practice
the craft or her art in England, the first of the former given a weaver Flemish in 1311 .
While the first act which protected inventions dating back to the year 1449 should be
emphasized that the existence of patent as a monopoly to inventors use was made
during the reign of Elizabeth I st, and it came as a need of the protection of the rights
of inventors copying or exploitation of these rights by other subjects who had not
contributed to this invention, which also brought unjust gains from subjects who were
not entitled to the invention .
But even though the inventor's monopoly was invented on his inventions, this was
also determined by a legal act, it should be noted that the existence of patents as an
exception to the general rule against monopoly was given in the sixth section of the
Monopoly Statute of 1623 [4] .
But copyright was even more difficult to defend, even though it was widely accepted
that the press invention and the number of colleges and universities created the
necessary environment for development of copyright , but also in the case of
sanctioning and protection of copyright again, the country that sanctioned for the first
time was the protection of this right .
In the early sixteenth century, Henry VIII-th gave the company an oppressive
monopoly "Stationer", which lasted even in the next century, then In 1709, the
British Parliament passed the Statute of Anne, the first law to provide
authors property ownership rights over their works, the rights to which they can
be exercised against the books to the producers who had earlier claimed a monopoly
over their works [5] . The act received the name of Queen Anne of England, who was
the Queen at the time of his adoption , this act was passed after a number
of failed attempts to regulate the licensing of literary works through a restricted
property right held from printing presses .
The modern copyright version was very easily implemented in the United States ,
which was still a colony of England but despite this the act was also reflected in the
colonial acts, even after the declaration of independence, the US maintained the act of
protection of copyright, it should be noted that these two acts are the acts which
establish the foundation of the intellectual property right, because on the basis of these
acts takes precedence and identifies this right from other property rights.
Meanwhile, if we have to ask where the original moral point of copyright is
concerned, it is easily evidenced by France, which devoted more importance to the
moral rights of authors and inventors than to commercialism .
In the French Revolution, the French Parliament adopts a number of laws for the
implementation of a copyright and patents system based on the moral aspect of these
rights. For example, section 1 of the patent law of 1791 states that "All new
discoveries are copyright of the author; to ensure that inventors should be temporary
enjoyment of his discovery, five, ten or fifteen years. " [6] 1793 .
Copyright legislation follows the same philosophical background by creating
a doubler (literally, copyright rights) , adding a novelty that we do not find in England
that the French state would recognize copyright even outside France , even in the
philosophy of EU acts, is basically the French idea of copyright.
 
1.3.Internationalization of intellectual property and copyright
The international protection of intellectual property was implemented for the first
time by the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property in 1883, this
Convention allowed nationals of a country to obtain protection of their works in other
signatory countries, and covered inventions (patents) , trademarks and industrial
designs.
Afterwards there is the signing of the convention es Berne for the Protection
of Literary and Artistic works in 1886 this international act is important to realize
providing the economic offenders and protection for moral rights, the act which was
affected by the British legislation , one of the main features of the treaty is that it
leaves  ipso jure protection of the copyright to any original work without requiring
registration [7] .
While United States of America  has not ratified convention of Berne which brought
benefits for non-payment to foreign authors from non-payment of foreign authors,
thus increasing their profits and ensuring free European books in the United
States. This silence from the United States has continued throughout the 20th
century , but for the Second World War, the United States was the initiator of the
Universal Copyright Convention (UCC) of 1952, which, unlike the Bern
Convention , was a tool to allow foreign citizens access to existing copyright
legislation in foreign countries [8] .
The Patent and Trademark Patents (Paris) and Berne (for copyright) created the
opportunity to establish a joint international organization
called the International Bureau of Intellectual Property Protection (BIRPI), these
international acts sanctioned a minimum protection of intellectual property rights,
allowing the right of States which were signatories to conventions to sanction by
domestic acts a more in-depth protection of patents and brands and copyright, as well
as it is required that country legislation neither guarantee the authors and foreign
inventors the same rights granted to their nationals thereby eliminating discrimination
between foreign and domestic authors.
Also other acts are the Madrid Agreement concerning the International Registration of
Trademarks in 1891, The Hague Agreement concerning the International
Industrial Design Provision of 1925 and the 1970 Patent Cooperation Treaty.
While in 1967 it created a World Organization of Intellectual Property (IPO), a
descendant of Direct BIRPI. The aim of the IPO is to:
-  guarantee the implementation of existing and future international treaties relating
to the protection of intellectual property;
- promote the harmonization of national legislation.
IPO administers twenty-three different treaties regarding the subjects of intellectual
property, of which the most important are the Treaty of the right IPO in 1996, the
Treaty of Performance and Phonograms 1996 and 2000 Patent Law Treaty on.
In addition to IPO, there are several other organizations that are involved in the field
of international aspects of intellectual property trade. The most important of these is
the WTO, which manages the 1995 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which is the most important treaty dealing with
developing countries. TRIPS administration is conducted through an administrative
body known as the Council for Trade Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, which is
composed of WTO member states.
Another organization involved in commercial aspects of intellectual property is the
United Nations Educational , Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) , the
UNESCO  was largely to support the wider utilization of intellectual works that strive
to ensure wider dissemination of science and technology [9] .
1.4. Types of intellectual property
There are several types of intellectual property rights, each distinct from the other in
formalities, the term of existence, and levels of protection. These legal remedies are:
a) Copyright [10] is a restricted property right that exists in some types of
works. There are two distinct sets of intellectual products that are subject to copyright
protection. The first group is made up of original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic
works. Sound recordings, movies, broadcasts, cable programs, and published editions
of an existing work constitute the other category of works, often referred to as derived
works. In general, the requirement for copyright exists is that creation must be an
original work. Copyright does not defend ideas ; It protects the expressions of ideas ,
hence the ideas that are made accessible in an external form. In summary, the author
is created automatically when an original work is reduced to the material form in a
copyrighted jurisdiction.
b) Patent [11] are a kind of intellectual property in which the creator of an
invention is rewarded with a monopoly property of the product for a certain period of
time after which the invention goes to the public domain. The purpose of a patent is to
provide a reward for the skills and work taken by the inventor. It is also widely known
that patents are a way of encouraging the invention by providing exclusive ownership
and exploitation rights of creation. According to the European Patent Convention,
patentability must be new, should include a creative step and should be industrially
applicable.Generally, patents can be categorized into three different types: product
patents, patents and process patents.
c) industrial design [12] has been implemented by many treaties. In particular, the
greatest protection comes from the Intellectual Property Rights Trading Agreement
(TRIPS Agreement), which entered into force in 1995. Article. 25.1 Encourages
Member States to ensure the protection of independently-generated industrial designs
that are new or original. In many countries, this type of protection is secured through
patents, but TRIPS allows it to get independent protection when needed.
d) Trademarks [13] protect the information to the customer who owns a brand. In
most legislation, a trademark must be a sign that can be represented graphically and
should be able to distinguish the goods, services or technology behind it from
competing products or services.
e) Switch off [14] is a common form of trademark, which originally comes from this
type of intellectual property. Like a trademark, passing a good business name
negotiation, but because it is a common law, it has lower demand than a trademark
and can be more easily applied to commercial names that are not sufficiently
distinctive for subject to a trademark.
e) geographical indications are another type of intellectual property that is specific to
a country of origin. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) describes them
as "a sign used on goods that have a specific geographical origin and possess
qualities or a reputation that are due to the country of origin. Most commonly, a
geographical indication consists of the name of the country of origin of the goods. "
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER II
COPYRIGHT 
2.1. Albanian copyright strings.

The author's slander, though creating the notion of a new right, can not
be said to be such as the beginning of this right is found in the Civil
Code of 1929 in Article 795 where the object defined you of the right
of ownership, referring perpetrator is material things, bodily but
besides this concept provision establishes a special protection for
literary mastery, artistic and industrial, defining these rights and stating
that intellectual products are owned by their authors . [15]

As it is defined in this Code, copyright is placed among the rights of

ownership over the overburdened objects, by recognizing the owner's
ownership of the work or inventions made.

Meanwhile, even in the communist era, despite the fact of the deep
changes in the legal system restored to copyright, was sanctioned in the
Civil Code of 1955 [16] as well as in special laws [17] where copyright
was sanctioned as one of the personal non-property rights where the
procedure was also defined [18] to be followed by the author in
defense of this right, it should be noted that although the state in this
jurisdiction exercised significant restrictions on property rights,
copyright restrictions were lighter.

Meanwhile, in the 1981 Code, articles 315-335 Chapter

VIII, copyrights appear to be very limited, as it turns out that to create
copyright, the production of intellectual creativity was required to
materialize in a concrete form so that it could be perceived by others
without being necessary its publication and distribution [19] , creativity
under this Code was defined as a legal fact from which the copyright
itself arises .

The Civil Code of 1981 dealt with as well as derivative works,

foreseeing that copyright holders will also be called those who create
derivative works such as adaptations, translations, screenings, as well
as any transformation of literary, musical and other works [20] . The
subject of copyright was also translations the Code also recognized and
sanctioned co-responsibility when a work was fought by
the intellectual creativity of two or more personaven while excluded
from co- existence , the persons who provided technical assistance in
carrying out the work.

Also this Code guaranteed the protection of rights to creative entities

that did not have Albanian citizenship, but this right was subject to the
condition of signing the agreement with the state from which the
foreign citizen came, if this agreement existed then the workpiece of
the work his right was guaranteed
Meanwhile in 1992 the law no. 7564, dated 19.05.1992 "On
Copyright", which has under gone continuous changes adapting to the
changes of the time, the law which was annulled by law no. 9380,
dated 28.04.2005, "On Copyright and Related Rights," as amended ,
which has been repealed by Law no . 35/2016 " On copyrights and
other related rights ", which also reflected the EU's international acts in
copyright regulation.

After the collapse of the communist system with the above

law [21] copyright has expanded in respect of the nature of this right
and its purpose was considered the sole and sole owner of the work on
his work, and this was also considered a lucrative and lucrative right in
the market as was considered part of the market and had an economic
reward as well, and the judicial protection of this right was also
sanctioned.

In addition to the entry into force of the 1998 Constitution in Article 58

of the Constitution, the right to create the authorship of an act is also
determined, and the protection of this right was also sanctioned as a
criminal offense specifically as a criminal offense [22] but also dealt
with in the 1994 Civil Code [23] where copyright was found to be
protected and sanctioned in the part of causing non-pecuniary damage,
namely the rights guaranteed by this Code and still in force are the
right to the name, personality and deed of a person, as well
asmisleading publications made by subjects that exercise their activity
in the publishing sector.

But it should be noted that the current law that came into force in 2016
is a law that best reflects practice, the current copyright issue also
reflects the whole of EU acts as directives that have dealt with different
aspects of copyright protection in the EU, a practice which precedes
any situation that did not provide for regulation in the previous law,
and even the extension of the competencies of institutions that have a
legal duty to guarantee and protect the copyright.

2.2.Object and copyrights under law no. 35/2016 "For

copyright and the other rights associated with them"
The law does not make a clarification of the legal concept of copyright
but merely defines the affiliation of these rights by expressing that
these rights belong to the natural, natural person who created the
work [24] but without giving a definition of the juridical sense of
copyright, we derive this definition from the doctrine where it is
determined that the intellectual property right is the entirety of those
rules that regulate that juridical relationship with the object of the
minds which of a kind may be works of physical subjects, inventions,
designs and other forms that are not defined [25] .

From the definition of the author's right as defined in the law, these
right ones belong (the law says by nature ) to a natural person who
also created them, so by law it is understood that these rights belong to
the author because of nature of them.

The law also stipulates that the rights of the performers of these works
are inherent in nature    interpreters / performers , which means that the
interpretation / execution belongs to these subjects, and for this they
have the right to benefit for the widows who are created by other
subjects.

As defined by the law the copyright rights are:

a) word creations, expressed through literary and publicistic writings,

lectures, religious sermons, speeches, any other oral or written
creation and computer programs;

b) dramatic and dramatic musical creations;

c) musical compositions, with or without text;

ç) choreographic creations and pantomimes;

d) audiovisual creations, which include cinematographic creations

and other audiovisual creations created in similar ways to
cinematographic works, radio works;

f) Visual art creations in the field of painting, sculpture and graphics,

decorative monumental arts, regardless of their composite material /
media, and other visual art creations;

e) architectural creations, including drawings, plans, sketches in

reduced scale and graphic creations in architectural projects;
ë) Photographic creations and any other creation expressed by any
process similar to the photographic one;

f) works of applied arts, excluding those works, as industrial designs

protected by the law "On Industrial Property";

g) three dimensional creations, illustrations, lists, maps and drawings

in the field of topography, geography and science in general;

gj) Cartographic creations;

h) written or oral scientific creations, such as presentations,

monographs, deductions, dissertations, studies, university lectures,
textbooks, projects and scientific documentation [26] .

In addition to the original works, the law has also

defined offspring which are defined as any intellectual creation that
originates from an original work but fully fulfills the condition:
without prejudice to it, such works are those which rely on a creation
but carry on their own, have a selective nature and arrangement, which
causes these works to have the same legal status as the original ones
and their authors enjoy all the rights of an author of an original
work [27] . In the offense the law has stipulated:

- Translations are written or verbal works in a language other than that

of the original version; in a special place in the line of works derived
from them, they will find not only translations but also
dictionaries, theses, encyclopedias etc. [28] ;

- Adaptation or adaptation , adaptation is a creation of a new work by

taking a different work of another gender, the most used adaptations
are those of cinematographic, musical , choreographic or theatrical
works [29] ;

- Illustrations are figures, scenes, graphics, materials, writings, which

are part of another existing work, or are in themselves a work of their
own and used in a new work in order to better explain an idea , event
or condition. Illustrations can also be perceptions in the shape of a
piece of prose, in order to make its meaning to the public easier and
clearer [30] ;
- Documentary creations are audiovisual works that have a single
theme and consist of recordings of images taken from previous
recordings [31] ;

- Musical arrangements are the instrumentation of a musical work and

the specification of musical sounds depending on each instrument and
the performer's voices. Arrangement is a special kind of offspring
because it relies on an existing musical work and helps to track it in
public. There is no arrangement without a musical work, so is it not an
original work [32] ;

- Any kind of transformation of a literary, artistic or scientific work,

which is the product of creative work of the mind. Although the
lawmaker has explicitly listed various types of offense, at this point
there is room for any possible transformation that is not a pure
translation, summary, arrangement, adaptation or adoption in one of
these types, but may be a mixed version of them or a new version, but
the essence is that it always remains in effect [33] .

The law also stipulates that copyright-related rights will not have to
infringe on copyright, which should prevail in relation to rights that are
related to copyrights.

The law has made a definition of who will be considered the author by
law [34] author is to be considered any physical person or group of
physical persons, such persons may not be considered juristic who are
outside the definition of the legal notion of the author, according to the
law that a natural person or group of physical persons who creates a
literary, artistic, scientific, original intellectual product, materialized,
irrespective of the style and manner of expression of the author
exercising the right to authorship on these intellect product
categories  the law also recognizes the right of co-operation where the
remuneration will have to be determined in an agreement based on the
Civil Code or in the absence of the agreement the law stipulates the
application of the provisions of the Civil Code, recognizing the
coauthor's remuneration in respect of his or her contribution respect for
the legal pre-emption.

Another right guaranteed by the law for the offense is also fair to enjoy
the right of ownership even on the back of the work [35] guaranteeing
the right of mentioning the name in each publication of the summary
even by determining the right of remuneration for the use of the
summary as well as the profitability of the revenue from its
publication.

It is imperative that the author exercises the right of ownership over the
work, but what are the characteristics that one has to enjoy an offense
to be considered as such and can enjoy protection from the law?

Specifically, the work should be:

- the original must be a product that is authentic and belongs to its

author only, it must enjoy in its entirety elements that must be different
and distinct from any other creation, but with originality not
necessarily to understand something innovative and creative in its
entirety is enough for the work to prove the contribution of a certain
physical subject even if the reproduction differs only slightly from the
original the requirements of originality are met [36]

- The intellectual  aspect of creation that means carries in itself a

minimum creative value. This means that the act is not related only to
subjects that represent the category of intellectuals, but can be prepared
by anyone with whatever level of education [37] ;

- The work should be in a materialized form , in order to cause effects

to the visually visual and public hearing senses [38] .

- The work should have a form not only material but also a physical
form , regardless of the form of expression. A creation that is not
affixed to a physical or material holder, regardless of form, appearance
or function, is not an act and does not enjoy the protection as
such [39] .

- Not be excluded from creations that do not enjoy protection

from copyright law [40] .

The law requires that in the entirety of the contents of the work the
presence of the cumulative element, the absence of which would also
create the inescapability of the work

2.3 .The copyrights and their implementation in Albania

Although the law has well defined the category of rights which
guarantee copyright again in practice the implementation of these
rights is not complete concretely the law has categorized copyright into
three groups:

- personal non-property rights;

-exclusive property rights of authors;

-other rights.

The law in the categorization of these rights has aimed precisely at the
complete and comprehensive protection of the author against the abuse
of this right by subjects who benefit unjustly and in violation of the
law monetary filings.

In the category of non-property rights classified in law, the right that

provides a real and tangible protection of copyright is in addition to the
right of publication which is known only to the author of the work, but
the right to recognize and mention authorship is another non-property
right which guarantees the author recognition and mention as the
author of the work even after the transfer of his rights to the user of
the work in any case must mention the name of the author of the work,
unless the author has given up of his right explicitly.

The importance of this right is basically moral and can be said to be

one of the typical rights of a moral nature, and with an impact on the
protection of copyright in Albania, as there are not a few cases when in
various works or publications of literary or scientific works is not
mention the name of the author of the work, it should be noted that in
the early 90 'in most works of these times is evident the fact of not
quoting the work author ,in any form, everything remains unexpressed
and unrecorded, which also constituted a violation of the copyright to
be mentioned in the works where the analyzes were published, (the
published ideas of the author).

In addition to the non-property moral rights which lead to the

recognition of the authorship of the publication of the work, the
exclusive property rights are those which in most cases are violated in
Albanian practice, although against these rights in 1992 there was a
full sanction , the violation of these rights, which are guaranteed by
law, continues, specifically the law has defined a series of exclusive
rights of a property nature:

a) the right to reproduce the work;

b) the right to distribute the work;

c) the right to public communication of the work;

ç) the right to perform derived works

The law stipulates that any use of the original or copies of it will be
considered a violation of the law will be accompanied by measures
aimed at curbing the violation of the law.

Specifically, the right to reproduce the work is a right which belongs

exclusively to the author by conditioning, prohibiting the reproduction
of the work without the express approval of the author, due to the
exclusivity of this right that the law has logically recognized the author
of the work, The law has made the same provision for the right to
distribute the work, public communication of the work and the right to
commit derivative works, since the law itself has considered them as
exclusive rights, these are necessarily rights that belong to the author
and as such are his absolute tag.

But in practice in Albania these rights which the law has defined as
exclusive, they are only an attribute of the author,this rights continue to
be violated and the problem in this situation is that there is no control
by the relevant institution for the protection of these rights, who also
had to oversee the implementation of these rights.

One of the factors that influence the violation of copyright is the fact
that there is still an uncontrolled market of works, but also a lack of
information of citizens and the exercisers of these rights where often
the publications themselves are not accompanied, with the acronym of
copyright.

In addition, the statistics in the judicial system do not reflect an

increase in the number of cases in defense of copyright, unfortunately
there are very few cases of protection of this right in court, as there are
few cases that individuals decide to file in Court are cases of
infringement of exclusive copyright.
Regarding copyright protection since 2010, the EC progress report on
Albania reports limited progress in terms of copyright. European
Commission progress reports highlight the low level of implementation
of the current copyright law, the poor functioning of the Albanian
Copyright Office (institution established by Law No. 9380, dated
28.4.2005, “On copyright and other related rights), lack of
coordination and cooperation between state institutions, key copyright
law enforcement actors and critical problems with collective
management agencies, which oversee copyright in the market.

Since 2010, on the proposal of the former Albanian Copyright Office,

the Ministry of Culture has licensed four collective administration
agencies, referring to the revenues reported by the four collective
administration agencies in the Albanian Copyright Office, it is noticed
that they are negligible, if we compare them with other Eastern
European countries.

The former Albanian Copyright Office has benefited from an IPA

project worth 800,000 Euros, implemented in the period 2010-2012,
where the main component was the approximation of legislation with
that of EU member states, which resulted in a draft law new law on
copyright, a draft law which was adopted in 2016 which did not bring
much innovation in copyright only sanctioned in more detail the entire
competencies of administrative institutions which have the task of
implementing the law on copyright.

Precisely to supervise the implementation of the law on copyright

protection also to provide an independent and evaluative information
of the functioning of copyright in our country, comparison with
developed countries and the region, the work done by this Office for
the awareness of the public and interest groups, the evaluation of the
legal framework, the identification of violations and shortcomings in
the implementation of legality, for this purpose an audit group of the
Supreme State Audit for a period of 4 months during 2014 conducted a
legality and performance indicators of the former Albanian Copyroght
Office ,for the years 2012-2013, extending to the period since the
establishment of the institution.

From this audit it was concluded that the former Albanian Copyright
Office has not played its role and has not fulfilled the obligations
imposed by law in terms of protection of copyright, an area which has
been almost completely out of control as from this Office and from the
Ministry of Culture for this period

On the other hand, it should be noted that the authors themselves, the
subject of this law and further the general public have limited
knowledge on the protection that the law gives to their work in this
context, is also informing the public about the law on copyright and the
duties of this Office in relation to the law and the public.

The former Albanian Copyright Office has not been focused on

monitoring and inspecting large users of these rights, there is no case
of monitoring and imposing administrative measures on entities known
for their activity at home and abroad despite the fact that these subjects
constantly broadcast works that are protected by copyright.

Thus, during 2012, the former Albanian Copyright Office imposed

only 21 administrative measures for cable TV and radio, while for
2013 no administrative measures were reported imposed on
broadcasters, radio or television. For violations of the law found during
inspections in the period 2010–2013, the former Albanian Copyright
Office has imposed fines (as mentioned above, in most cases against
entities with low activity).

Meanwhile, for the users of copyrights who present the main concern
that the high tariffs set by the Agencies, the lack of transparency
regarding the methodology for setting the tariffs and the contracts that
the agencies have with the local authors as well as the representation
contracts for the foreign authors. The Albanian Hoteliers Association
has also officially complained to the former Albanian Copyright Office
about these fees, explaining that different agencies operate at different
prices which are higher than all countries in the region.

One of the most problematic areas where copyright infringement is

most easily identified Authors is the archive of musical creativity for
which they make the Public Radio and Television that administers this
archive responsible, accusing it that for the personal gain of its
directors, has offered to private televisions works by Albanian authors,
openly violating the law on copyright.
Also another area where copyright is violated is the area of websites
which is used without authorization and free of charge works of
various authors this has resulted from the audit which found that there
was a lack of cooperation of - Former Albanian Copyright Office, with
the Communications Authority Electronic and Postal for 2012-2013,
for blocking Albanian websites that infringe copyright.

Also from the progress-report it was concluded that the process of

monitoring the activity of collective administration agencies (CAA) by
Albanian Copyright Office, has been weak in this case CAA have not
fulfilled the legal obligations to provide information related to their
financial activity, decision-making for the approval of revenues and
expenditures and the distribution of these revenues to the holders of
rights as well as the submission of tariffs approved by the main bodies
of the agencies at the time provided by law.

Agencies have issued a general authorization for the repertoire they

defend without specifying and without explaining to users which
authors they paid to the agencies from contacts and interviews
conducted with particular authors and stakeholders it was found that
although the authors were members of Collective Administration
Agencies did not have information on the activity of the respective
agencies.

Collected revenue distributions revenue from users have been in

minimal amounts and only for a predetermined group of authors.
Decision-making on revenue distribution has not been transparent to
authors. Despite the shortcomings observed over the years in the
activities of collective administration agencies, only in September
2012, the former Albanian Copyright Office has proposed the
suspension of the license of two agencies on the other hand in this
period the Ministry of Culture has been passive in guaranteeing legal
rights this as it has never come up with a decision on these proposals.

Also, the non-observance of the law by the former Albanian Copyright

Office is a reflection of the continuous lack of cooperation between
public institutions and relevant entities for which agreements have
been signed which have not been implemented, which makes it even
more difficult to implement the law by this institution.
A case in which copyright fraud has been identified is also the case
"Sig-Ship" which acted as a collective management agency in flagrant
violation of the law which has exercised profitable activities in the
market since 2008, has bring harm to the holders of the rights of the
works that are used, as these incomes did not go on their own account,
but as illegal profits of this subject.

But even though the former Albanian Copyright Office, has been
applied a series of fines against this subject, the Prosecution has been
an institution which has repeatedly dismissed the case by indirectly
violating the implementation of the law on copyright protection, a
reason for which other institutions are required, the enactment of their
organic laws for protection against copyright abuse

But it should be noted that the Civil Court against this subject has
responded to the lawsuit by imposing the sentence of the owner of this
subject.

The lack of adequate cooperation with the former Albanian Copyright

Office, by these institutions has not only resulted in non-
implementation of the law, seriously violating the interests of lawful
holders of rights that are collective administration agencies, but also
damaging the material interests of the perpetrators.

This situation is a flagrant violation of the law in terms of protection

of copyright in our country is a significant indicator of the lack of will
to not implement the law, which has made the responsible structures in
charge of implementing this law not coordinate their activity in the
fight against copyright infringement, passively accepting the unfair
benefits of various commercial entities to the detriment of the
community of authors.

2.4.Legal institutions responsible for guaranteeing copyright

One of the reasons that it felt necessary to apply was the fact that the
scope of works which was published in the on-line system in the
previous law were unreflected and these publications were unprotected
by law, because it was also deemed necessary for these innovations of
publishing works in the on-line system (internet system) to be able to
find protection ,in the respect and reflection of EU directives, acts
which are also reflected and mentioned since the introductory part of
the law.

The protection of copyright as an area of law which for a long period

has not found de facto protection by law and administrative institutions
and then the judiciary, has created conditions of flagrant abuse of
copyright and this abuse in the online system is even more widespread.

The reason why the law in the reflection of reality and facts but also of
the directives which best regulate copyright, has provided not only the
rights but also the institutions responsible for the protection of these
rights, as well as the application of sanctions in case of violation of
these rights.

The law provides that the administrative institution responsible for the
protection of copyright in a number of administrative institutions, has
previously established the structure of copyright administration as
provided by law that these rights can be administered individually or
through collective administration agencies, which according to the law
have the competence to protect in case of copyright infringement as
well as the distribution of rewards to beneficiaries should be noted that
the Agency administers copyright under a contract signed with the
author based on which protects and rewards copyright.

The law stipulates that the main task of the Collective Administration
Agencies is to collect revenues for the use of works and their
distribution to the holders of copyright and other related rights, which
has received a license from the ministry responsible for copyright after
the proposal by the Directorate of Copyright, also the law has provided
that these Agencies can exercise their activity based on licensing by
the responsible Ministry based on the proposal of the Directorate of
Copyright (DA) validity of which is for three years with the right of
renewal also this structure is a superior structure in relation to the
Collective Administration Agencies,in relation to the implementation
of duties and legal responsibilities.

The law has defined two conditions on the basis of which a license can
be issued by the responsible Ministry, in the absence of which this can
not be concretely approved:
a) has obtained the consent for the administration of rights by the
majority of rights holders of this category, who have given their
powers of representation for the administration of their rights;

b) has the largest number of contracts concluded with reciprocal

foreign agencies, in accordance with the professional criteria
mentioned in the law;

Meanwhile, the law has determined that the reward fees are set
between Collective Administration Agencies and the representatives of
the users association or, if this is not possible, with the decision of
National Copyright Council ,the fees which are set in agreement with
the parties, against which if there are claims the law has determined
first the administrative way and then the court one, the decision of
National Copyright Council ,finally determines the fees which should
be applied in relation to the copyright.

Another security link for the protection and guarantee of copyright is

the National Council for Copyright, a structure set up by the Ministry
responsible for copyright protection with competencies defined in law
such as:

a) approves the methodology and the amount of remuneration tariffs;

b) decides on any claim of the parties for the termination of the

agreement and checks whether the agreement is in accordance with the
provisions of this law;

c) determines the criteria and procedures for the selection of creativity

of national value, according to the provisions of this law;

ç) provides for arbitration proceedings

 The law also provides for a mediation structure as well as Arbitration

for resolving disputes or claims of the perpetrators, before the
exhaustion of the judicial way of resolving the conflict, in compliance
with the administrative procedural principle, where to resolve quickly
and at lower cost,Kode of Administrative Procedures ,conflict provides
for the first exhaustion of the administrative route and then the judicial
one.
 The law also provides for a series of administrative measures such as
fines against entities that also commit violations of copyright law
which are decided proportionally in relation to the violation committed
by any civil entity.

The law has also provided the copyright for compensation / reward in
case of violation of these rights sanctioned by law, guaranteeing the
author against any form of abuse of his right and work, this for a term
of protection for him economic rights is throughout the life of the
author plus 70 years after death. This deadline was set in accordance
with Council Directive 93/98 of 29 October 1993 harmonizing the
deadline for the protection of copyright and other related rights in the
European Union (EU).

The 70-year term was chosen as the longest term of protection in force
in Germany at the time, in order not to deprive perpetrators of
protection under German law of their rights which were enshrined in
previous German law, which was also repealed.

But it should be noted that the de facto implementation of these rights

shows that institutions have a lot of work to do in respecting the law
and protecting these rights, against abuses in a market where
informality and the tendency for unfair gain and in violation of the law
constitute manner and habit of acting.

2.5 . Copyright in Albania and EU Legislation.

With the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement,

Albania undertook the legal guarantee and real enforcement of the
obligations arising from this agreement. This act addressed Albania's
obligation to ensure that its existing laws and future legislation will be
gradually made in accordance with the acquis communautaire ,as well
as the obligation for existing and future legislation to be implemented
and enforced.

So, as an initial obligation of Albania in the field of copyright

protection, it had the task of approximation and to ensure that it has
been implemented properly and is being implemented. Also at this
stage it is really necessary and continuous monitoring for the
implementation and enforcement of obligations derived from the SAA.
One of the tasks set by the EU is to take the necessary measures to
guarantee a similar level of protection to the level offered by the EU no
later than four years after the signing of the SAA, as well as the
obligation to accede to a number of international acts and organizations
such as the Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms
against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Programs, the Copyright
Treaty, and the International Convention for the Protection of New
Varieties of Plants WIPO.

In this context, the existing legislation reflects the following European

legal provisions:

-Directive 93/83 / EC dated 27 September 1993 “On the coordination

of rules on copyright and related rights applicable to satellite
broadcasting and cable rebroadcasting - Celex no. 31993L0083 /
Official Journal 1993L248 / 15.

-Directive 2001/84 / EC of the European Parliament and of the

Council of 27 September 2001 "On the right of resale for the benefit of
the author of an original work of art" - Celex no. 32001L0084 /
Official Journal 2001 L 272/32.

-Directive 2006/115 / EC of the European Parliament and of the

Council of 12 December 2006 "On the right to lease and borrow as
well as on certain copyright rights in the field of intellectual property"
(codified version of 92 / 100 / EEC) - Celex no. 32006L0115 / Official
Journal 2006 L 376/28. 

- Directive 2006/116 / EC of the European Parliament and of the

Council of 12 December 2006 on the protection of copyright and other
related rights (codified version 93/98 / EC) - Celex no.32006L0116
Official Journal 2006 L372 / 12.

-Directive 96/9 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of

11 March 1996 "On the legal protection of databases" - Celex no.
31996L0009 / Official Journal 1996 L 77/20. Directive 2009/24 / EC
of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 “On
the legal protection of software” - Celex no.32009L0024 / Official
Journal 2009 L 111/16.
 The totality of these acts is reflected in the current copyright law which
in terms of sanctioning and protection of this de jure right can be said
to reflect the acts of the acquis communautaire.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Intellectual property and copyright in particular, although relatively new rights but old
in recognition, have gone through a series of ongoing difficulties, especially in the
twentieth century, when the law was sanctioned in the first treaties of the European
Communities,of the author as a right which should not remain only at the moral level
but should be sanctioned with concrete acts and appropriate penalties that, can be
applied for any form of violation of this right.

Albania, although it has existed for a century and a few years as a sovereign state,
even in the legislation of the communist period this right was sanctioned and was
subject to a series of constant controls and the application of a series of actions which
were entirely lacking due to the system which was a limitation as well as a de facto
violation of a number of rights, including copyright, a right which was sanctioned in
such a way which violated this right by not anticipating the totality of cases in which
this right could be violated.

Meanwhile, with the change of the political and legal system of the 1990s, there was a
passive violation and abuse of this right in a number of aspects, as well as the
continuous lack of control and punishment against the subjects who committed
infringing acts of this right, necessarily created the conditions for the drafting of a
series of ongoing laws, as well as the establishment of institutions as well as
administrative structures which should guarantee the de facto implementation of this
right.

But having more and more a market which was and continues to be partially informal,
the favoring of the abuse of this right was at alarming levels, on the other hand also
the non-functioning of the relevant legal instances which were presumed to guarantee
the implementation of the law, but that in fact with their passivity and inefficiency
they have continuously created the conditions for violation and even lack of reward of
this right reason why in the Progress Report for Albania in 2015 the conclusion for
the protection of intellectual property was that: “ In the area of intellectual property
rights, progress has been limited, with little progress. Substantial shortcomings remain
in terms of the effective implementation of intellectual and industrial property rights
which undermine Albania's commitments under the SAA. ”[…]
Conclusion which, although it belongs to the time when the previous law was in force,
which was abrogated by the law of 2016, still remain valid even after a year and a
half, as the need to stop violating this right goes beyond the law and institutions , it
requires a constant awareness and information to thus create the force of habit not to
violate and cease to violate this right.

Copyright in Albania, even though the new law has entered into force, which has
replaced the existing law and institutions, still leaves much to be desired in the
practical plan, as continuous inter-institutional cooperation is required to guarantee
the protection and application of continuous sanctions, which aim to guarantee this
right.

Also, the judicial system and the formation of judges who graduate with a Master's
degree find it difficult to recognize and practice this right, as the trainings as well as
university and postgraduate curricula have left this right in the elective sector, which
determines the will of student to know and study this field of law, but for international
structures, as well as EU institutions this is a right which should not only be legally
defended but also the implementation of the law should be guaranteed by all levels
and instances and protection of law in Albania, a duty which remains to be realized
continuously by legislation and judicial practice.

 
LITERATURE:

- Constitution (1998)
- Law no. 35/2016 " For copyright and other related rights "

- Branch, Fatos, 2008, "Intellectual Property" 2nd revised edition , Tirana,

Morava.
- Gjata R, "Obligations of the contractor", 2010, Tirana.
- Branch F, "Intellectual Property", Morava 2008, Tirana.
- Koci, Elina, 2003, "Intellectual Property, Copyright and Trademark Law",
publishing house
- Erik. 32. Latifi J, "The new legal framework for copyright regulation" -
received from the magazine "Parliamentary Law and Legal Policies",
publication of the Parliamentary Studies Center, 1/2005 ;
- Mandro A, "Roman Law" publishing house Aferdita, 1998, Tirana
- Semini M, "Right of Obligations and Contracts", publishing house Aferdita ,
2009. Tirana
- Semini M, "Copyright in Albania", S kanderbeg Books, 2009, Tirana.
- Semini M, "Causing the death penalty of copyright. Copyright Law "-
received from the magazine" Parliamentary Law and Legal Policy ",
publication of the Parliamentary Study Center, 1/2005.
- Bernese Convention "On the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works"
(1971),
- TRIPS Agreement "On the Different Display of Intellectual Property Rights
Related to Trade" (1994).
- The WTO Agreement "On Copyright" (1996)
- Universal Copyright Convention.
- ECT (consolidated treaty).
- Directive 93/83 / EC of 27 September 1993 "On the coordination of
copyright and related rights rules applicable to broadcasting and cable
retransmissions .
- Directive 2001/84 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27
September 2001 "On the right of resale for the benefit of the author of an
original work of art"
- Directive 2006/115 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12
December 2006 "On the right to rent and leasing and certain rights related to
copyright in the field of intellectual property" (codified version 92 / 100 /
EEC)
- Directive 2006/116 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12
December 2006 "On the protection of copyright and related rights" (codified
version 93/98 / EC)
- Directive 96/9 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11
March 1996 "On the Legal Protection of Databases"
- Directive 2009/24 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23
April 2009 "On the Legal Protection of Computer Programs"
- Civil Code 1929, Tirana 2010, Papyrus publications
- Civil Code of the Republic of Albania
- Criminal Code of the Republic of Albania
- Administrative Procedure Code of the Republic of Albania
- Decree No.487 dated 09.03.1993.
- Decree no.4389, dated 07.05.1968.
- Law no.7923 dated 19.04.1995,
- Law 8594 dated 06.04.2000.
- Law No. 8630, dated 03.07.2000.
- Law no.8826 dated 05.11.2001.
- Law nr. 9380 dated 28.04.2005 " On Copyright and Related Rights "

             
 Footnoote

[1] World Intellectual Property Organization - What Is Intellectual Property? (2016)

[2] 
[3] United Nations Intellectual Property Rights
[4] World Intellectual Property Organization - An Explanatory Note on the Origins of the United
Kingdom intellectual property legal regime (2013)
[5] World Intellectual Property Organization - An Explanatory Note on the Origins of the United
Kingdom intellectual property legal regime (2013)
 
[6] 
[7] W orld Intellectual Property Organization-An explanatory note Concerning the origins of the
United Kingdom intellectual property legal regime (2013)
 
[8] 
[9] Intellectual Property: Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights in a Nutshell  , 3rd Edition, by
Arthur R. Miller and Michael H. Davis (Ëest Group, 2000).
 
[10] Legal Aspects of Managing Technology , 2nd edition, by Lee B. Burgunder (Wet Legal
Studies in Business, 2001).
[11] Protecting Your Company's Intellectual Property: A Practical Guide to Trademarks,
Copyrights, Patents & Trade Secrets , by Deborah E. Bouchoux (AMACOM, 2001).
[12] Yes
[13] US Patent and Trademark Office
[14] Avoiding Intellectual Property Problems , by Thomas G. Field, Jr. Franklin Pierce
Center for IP, University of New Hampshire.
[15] Branch F, "Intellectual Property", Morava 2008, Tirana. .
[16] This article protects the copyright of non-property personal property rights in the event of a
violation of the name or pseudonym.
[17] Decree No. 4389 of 7 May 1968 "On Copyright"
[18] The author had the right to request from the court the recognition of this right, the termination
of the third party's violation, or the reinstatement of the copyright in his favor, in the case of causing
the property damage he was entitled to claim the remuneration of damage. The protection of personal
non-property rights was inherited to their heirs after the death of the author or their holder.
[19] Civil Code (1955)
[20] Koçi, Elina, 2003, "Intellectual Property, Copyright and Trademarks".
[21] Law no. 7564, dated 19.05.1992 "On Copyright "
[22] Articles 148 and 149 of the Criminal Code (1995)
[23] Articles 635 and 640 of the Civil Code
[24] Article 3/1 of Law no. 35/2016 "On copyrights and other related rights "
 
[25] 
[26] Article 8 of Law no. 35/2016 "On copyrights and other related rights"
 
[27]                 Semin .M - Intellectual Property (2009)
[28]                 Semini .M-Intellectual Property (2009)
[29]                 Yes there;
[30]                 Yes there;
[31]                
[32]                  there;
[33]                
[34] Article 13 of Law no. 35/2016 "On Copyright and Other Related Rights

[35] Article 15 ibid
[36] Semini, M-Intellectual Intelligence pg: 59-60 (2009)
[37] 
[38] 
[39] Ibid
[40] 
[41] Article 21-24 of Law no. 35/2016 "On copyrights and other related rights"

 
[42] Semini M, "Copyright in Albania", Skanderbeg Books, 2009, Tirana.
[43] Law no. 7564, dated 19.05.1992 "On Copyright"
             
[44] European Observer-Agaj, M (2015)
[45] 
[46] Ibid
[47] Article 127 of the Law
 
[48] Article 128 / b, c, d of the law ....
[49] Article 132 of the Law ....
[50] Article 133 Ibid
[51] Ms. 134 is there
[52] Article 143/5 of the Law
[53] Article 145 of the Law
 
[54] Nine 179-182 is there.
[55] Article 172 of the law
[56] MSA 70 with Albania (1 April 2009).
[57] Article 73 of the SAA (1 April 2009).
[58] Once morally even in antiquity these rights have been recognized and considered as a humiliating
phenomenon the use of others' ideas and their appropriation and reflection as a personality of
the beneficial subject .